A New Life
by Two Dollahs
Summary: Ultimate Playboy to Caring Dad, Nick has to change overnight. But can he do it in time to save two girls? Can he provide them with the new life they've been longing for?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize. I give credit to Jerry and everyone involved for making a kick ass show like CSI. The only thing I take credit for are Katie, April, Todd, and Stephanie. So please don't sue, I have nothing, I am a broke ass college student. So I hope you read and enjoy. Ps- reviews make me feel all happy and good inside. **

Chapter 1:

Nick Stokes was going through the isles in the grocery store, scanning through his mental list. He filled his cart with the things he would need for the week and made his way to the cashier.

"No, you can't have that." Said the girl in front of him. There was a small child sitting in the seat of her cart and she frowned as she put the candy bar back. "You know you're not allowed." She said. She stepped to the side as she put her items up on the belt and Nick got a full view of the child. She had a thick head of short blonde curls, and bright blue eyes. She kept staring at Nick so he waved to her. Coming from a big family he had lots of nieces and nephews, so he grew to love kids. There was something about her, the more he looked at her, that reminded him of Stephanie. She left almost eighteen years ago and never said why. It took him a couple years to get over it, but even today just the thought of her would make him depressed. "I'm sorry my mom has the card." The older girl said looking for her savings member card.

"Well I can't give you the discounts unless you have the card." The cashier said as he continued to scan the items.

The girl gave a deep sigh. "I have one." Nick spoke up, feeling sorry for the girl. She wasn't very tall and he guessed her to be around sixteen or seventeen. He handed the card to the cashier and he scanned it before giving it back.

"Thanks." She said giving him a smile. Unlike her sister she had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. The cashier bagged the groceries and she left the store out to her car. He finished Nicks groceries and he went out to his car. He saw the girl putting groceries in the back of her Jeep Grand Cherokee and oddly enough he was parked next to her.

"Hi." He said as pe passed her and put his few bags in the trunk of his car.

"Hi." She smiled politely. She finished with the bags and Nick saw her struggling trying to load a case of 24 water bottles into the car.

"Let me help you." He said taking it from underneath the cart and placing it in the trunk. He smiled again at the little girl who was watching as she leaned over the back of the seat.

"Thanks." She said smiling. She closed the trunk. "My wrist hasn't been the same since I sprained it." She said.

"No problem. Have a good day." He said as they got into their cars and drove off.

Katie pulled into the drive way and took her sister out of the car. She handed her a light bag as she took a few herself and they walked into the house and to the kitchen. Todd was laying on the couch, beer in his hand, watching a tv show. Katie put her sister, April, at the kitchen table and began to put the groceries away. Her mom was once again working all day at the diner to support the three of us. Todd had come into her mom's life when Katie was twelve, and he had been nothing but bad news ever since. Katie had never known her dad but she was luckier than April, because she would rather have no dad than a bum like Todd. He abused her mom and her and Katie swore that if he ever lay a hand on her sister she would kill him.

Although Katie was seventeen and April was three, the two shared the same room. Katie was afraid that if she wasn't there Todd would do something. "Katie, where's my fucking beer?"

Katie quickly tucked her in and went down stairs. She swore under her breath as she got the bottle from the fridge. "Why can't he do it himself? He's in the next room." She mumbled unaware that he was standing there. She turned around and he caught her by her arm. She winced in pain for it was the same one he sprained last month.

"You weren't quick enough." He said smacking her across the face. No matter how much it hurt she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of crying. "Now someone else will pay." He smiled evilly and headed for the stairs.

"No you don't." She said as she grabbed his leg and dragged him back down the stairs. All the anger she held in her from the past five years all came out. After he got in a few good swings she got her licks in. She stopped when she heard sirens and saw April standing at the top of the stairs, crying. She looked down and saw that Todd was unconscious. She caught her breath as she willed April to come down. "Come here hon, it's ok." She said coaxing her down. When she reached the bottom step Katie took her in her arms. "Did you call 9-1-1?" She asked. April nodded as she continued to cry into her sisters shoulder. "It's ok, you did good." She said. She had taught April that if there was some reason she couldn't be there and she was scared that she should call 9-1-1, and help would come. She ran a hand down her back as the doorbell rang and Katie answered it to see two cops at her door.

Nick walked into the crime lab unaware that by the end of tonight's shift his life would be turned completely upside down.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Katie held April in her lap as she hung onto her, frightened with all the people moving around her. "Katie Austin?" A man approached her.

She looked up. "Yes?"

"My name is Jim Brass, I'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's alright." She nodded her head and he continued. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

"I was protecting my sister." She said simply.

"So you felt that she would be in harms way?" She nodded her head, and Brass scribbled down on a pad. "Was your mom home?"

"She's at work, she's always at work." She said. April had her thumb securely between her lips and she had the right side of her face pressed to Katie's chest.

He was about to ask another question when a man appeared behind him. "Jim." He said as a greeting.

"Katie, this is Gill Grissom he's just going to look around a bit ok?" Katie nodded her head, knowing she had no choice. Her wrist was hurting and it was then that she realized that it was swollen.

She placed April aside but she wouldn't let go. "I have to stand up sweetie, then I'll pick you up." She said softly as she attempted to stand but got dizzy.

Jim knew she wasn't well. "Why don't we go over here and we can get you looked at." He offered. Katie knew she had to be checked out so she agreed. She took April's hand with her good one and they went over to the ambulance. She was having her arm wrapped when another man came and stood next to Brass.

"Where's Grissom?" He asked. Katie looked up and recognized the man from the grocery store earlier that day.

"Inside." Nick looked at the girl and recognized her as well.

"This is Nick Stokes, he will be joining Mr. Grissom." Brass said. The two smiled at each other and he went inside to join the investigation.

Nick walked into the house and saw Grissom as the bottom of the stairs looking at the wall. "What happened?" He asked putting on his latex gloves.

"The little girl called 911. When the officers showed up the two girls were home and the father was unconscious." Grissom filled him in as he removed a hair from a picture frame on the wall.

Nick looked at a picture hanging on the wall. It was a portrait of the two girls. "Cute kids." He looked at the next picture of the two girls, the father, and the mother.

Grissom noticed Nick staring and called him. Finally on the third try Nick looked up. "You alright?" He asked concerned looking at the picture he was looking at.

"Um, yeah. Sorry." He said apologetically.

Once they finished gathering the evidence and the photos Grissom asked Nick to collect DNA samples from the two girls, and also to check the back of the older ones head.

Brass looked at the two girls "Would you mind if he took a DNA sample?" He asked as Nick came back in front of them.

"Both of us?" Katie asked.

"Yes please." Nick spoke up. He pulled out two swabs and two bundles. "I need to take a mouth swab and a few hairs." He said unwrapping the first swab.

April, who had been sitting nicely sucking her thumb, buried her face further into Katie's arm. "I'll go first, ok?" She opened her mouth and let Nick take a cheek swab. Then, with a tweezers, he removed two strands at once and placed them in one of the bundles. "Your turn." Katie said but April refused. "C'mon." She said as she lifted the little girl onto her lap. "It doesn't hurt." She said and April looked timidly at Nick. He made a silly face at her and she gave a small smile before slowly opening her mouth. He took the swab and then the hair. She moved a bit when he took the hair but she didn't make a big fuss.

"I would also like to take a look at your head." Nick said to Katie. Grissom had found a small trace of blood on the picture frame. Katie turned slightly and nick examined her head to find a sore spot with blood. It was nothing major so he had someone clean it up and that was that.

"We need your mothers name and the place that she works." Brass said.

"Her name is Stephanie Wyly and she works at Mimi's Diner on Downey St." Katie informed him.

Nick almost dropped the swab container, causing everyone to look at him. "Sorry." He said shyly and packed up the evidence.

"I'm going to need you girls to come to the station until we can get a hold of your mom."

"Is that really necessary?" Katie asked. "She won't be off for another four hours and I really need to put her to bed."

"I think if we call her she might be able to get you soon."

Katie gave a low tisk, "Wanna bet." But luckily no one heard her, or at least no one brought it up. "She needs a booster seat. I can't drive, because it's after nine." She said not wanting to break any laws.

"I can put it in the Tahoe." Nick said. It wasn't customary for civilians to ride in the Tahoe's but Brass didn't see the harm. Besides the car seat wouldn't sit right in a squad car. Nick placed his case in the car as he took the booster seat from Katie. He put it in the back seat, behind him, and Katie hopped in the front.

The ride was quiet as Nick drove to the police department. "Thank you." She spoke up.

"For what?" He asked curiously.

"For being a nice person." She said looking at him. "I haven't come by many." She said.

"What happened to your father tonight? Did someone try to hurt you?" He asked seriously.

She let out a little laugh and looked back at April who had fallen asleep. "He's not my father, and it wasn't me I was worried about." She said turning back to the front. "I don't know who my father is, my mom refuses to talk about him." She said before laughing at herself. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear my whole life story." She said as they pulled into the lot for the police station.

Nick led her to the interrogation room and let her sit down. She had carried April the whole way even with her bad wrist and he knew she was tired as well.

It was now ten thirty, half an hour later, when Brass showed up. "The mother won't leave work until two." He said to Nick who was watching them from behind the mirror.

"This is crazy Jim. They're practically falling asleep." Nick argued lightly.

"I can't let them be home alone." He said.

"Why don't I take them over to the lab. At least there they can lay down on the couch." He said.

Brass sighed and agreed. "I don't see the harm." He said.

Nick took the girls back to the car and drove them five minutes to the lab. "I think you two will be more comfortable here." He said as he led them to the break room. Since April was asleep Katie allowed Nick to carry her since she couldn't support her with her bad arm. Nick led them to the sofa and after Katie sat down he laid April down with her. April snuggled up to Katie and shivered a bit, so Katie wrapped her zip up around her leaving her in a tank top.

Nick followed Catherine out. "Who's that?" She asked.

"The case me and Griss got. They were at the house and the mother refuses to leave work early. I figured here they could go to sleep rather than sit on the hard chairs in the interrogation room." He said as he looked at the girls through the door. He saw Katie in a tank top and knew it was cold, but his heart melted when he saw that she gave it to her sister. He walked in and saw that Katie had fallen asleep holding April. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around the two. Before closing the light and walking out.


	3. Chapter 3

An: Two things. A special shout out to csifan (you know who you are.), Ladybug07, and Wild 320, for being my first reviewers on the story. Now the two things: 1. I know that in one of the chapters Stephanie's last name is Wyly, it should be Austin, a small mistake but you'll live. 2. I know this chapter is short, but I will post another chapter tomorrow (Saturday), I just wanted it to end here. With that said, I still own nothing, except Katie, Steph, Todd, and April. Now please enjoy.

Chapter 3

It was two am when Nick walked back over to the break room. Greg had proved that the hair and blood, from the picture frame, belonged to Katie. They figured out that Katie and the guy had gotten into it and she was only trying to protect herself and April. He rounded a corner and saw a blonde woman practically throwing April into Katie's arms. "You cause so much trouble, you know that?" She said as he walked into the room.

Nick took one guess. "Stephanie?" He asked. She turned to face him and for the first time in eighteen years he got to look into her beautiful blue eyes. Except they were different now. Her once care free features were now hardened and the love and kindness that use to radiate off of her, were now showing cold and bitterness. 'What happened to you?' He thought.

"Well, are you going to say something?" She snapped.

"Can I have a word with you, outside?" She began to resist. "It will only take a second." He said following her out into the hall as she reluctantly went. "How have you been?" He started.

"If you're trying to rekindle an old flame, it won't happen. I'm with someone else now." She said, stilling being snappy.

"Yeah he's a real stand up guy." He muttered. "Do you even know why your kids were here?"

"Of corse. That kid got into a fight with Todd. Can we hurry this along?"

"Did you know that he hit her, even threw her against the wall?" Nick grew angrier.

"April?" She said questioning.

"No Katie. She refused to let him get to her." He said in his temper.

"Oh." She said as her face went from confused to 'I don't care'. "It was probably her fault to begin with." Nick notice how she never used Katie's name.

"You would say that, after the way you just handled that toddler. Those kids need a parent who protects them. You should be there for them. And also why is Katie taking on the responsibilities of being a mother? She's seventeen. She should be playing with other kids, going on dates."

"You have no idea how hard it is to be a parent." She said crossing her arms.

"Why don't we ask Katie?" He threw back.

"You think you know what's right? Fine, you take 'em." She said turning away.

"They're not my responsibility." He said.

She turned back to face him. "One of them is. I left to give that child a better life, and all she does is cause trouble and make my life harder. You think you can do better? Then be my guest." She said walking away.

He was to stunned to move as he blankly watched her walk out. He was a father? He had a child for seventeen years, and he missed out. He was more upset about missing her life than he was about finding out he was about having a child, although he was a little unprepared. He looked into the break room and saw Katie standing there staring at him, and he undoubtably knew that she had heard the whole thing. He walked into the room and she turned away to April. She picked her up and began to carry her out. "Katie wait."

"Look." She said, not wanting to bother him. "We've been through this before. She kicks us out and we stay at the neighbors house for a few days. Then when she realizes that there's no one to do the grocery shopping or the laundry, she'll want us back home." She said walking down the hall.

"Katie, you can't go out there alone." He said running after her.

"It's no big deal." She said, not wanting him to see her cry.

"No." He said sternly. He was not going to let her walk out of his life just as quickly as she had come into it, especially not back to someone who didn't care about her. She stopped just before she reached the doors leading to outside. He walked up behind her.

"You're a nice person Nick." She said as April woke up. "You don't need the burden of two trouble making children." She said, using the words her mother often used. April realized she was crying and brushed a tear away. She took a deep breath as Nick placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around.

"You're not trouble makers, and most of all you're not burdens." He said seriously, feeling pain for these children. "I'll admit, I'm not prepared for having kids," Katie looked down and he lifted her head by placing a finger under her chin. "but I'm willing to give it my best shot, if you'll let me."

Katie looked at his kind eyes and then down at April. 'I guess he's ok, he is my father after all.' She thought. "I'm not sure."

Nick figured it was because they had just met. "I'll tell you what, since we just met I could get a hotel room, two. One for you two, and one for me, with a door that goes through." He said. And then tomorrow, we could go shopping and get to know one another?" He more asked his idea.

"I don't want to put you out." She said. A part of her told her not to inconvenience him, but a part of her wanted to hug him and never let go.

"I never want to hear that again." He said. "You're not putting me out." There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes that was clear to the world, and Katie had no choice but to agree. "Ok. I just have to let my boss know I'm leaving." He said as the girls followed him to Grissom's office. He left the girls outside the door as he talked to his boss. "Hey, boss, I need tomorrow night off." He said.

"How come?" He asked looking up from filling out his papers.

"Something came up, and I need to attend to it." He said, not giving much away.

Grissom looked at him. Nick never asked for a day off unless it was absolutely necessary. "Alright." He said writing it down, so he wouldn't forget.

"Thanks Griss." He said walking out of the office. "Let's go." He said leading them out.


	4. Chapter 4

An: I would like to take time out to mention on of my special reviewers. However I can't name them because it was anonymous. Fist of all, Greg was comparing her DNA to the DNA Grissom found, not to Nicks. In order to test paternity you would have to compare. Second, Nick is not necessarily old old, which you will find out later on. And if the person that wrote that is reading this now, HA! I guess you did like it! Now on with the story......

Chapter 4:

Nick took the girls out to breakfast the next morning. They went to the dinner close to the lab, not the one that Stephanie worked at. Katie looked over at April who was happily using her fingers to munch on her bacon. "If it's ok, there's something I need to pick up at the house." She said.

"I was going to take you to get some new things today. I figured it would help in making a new start." He said sipping on his coffee.

Katie got confused. "I thought this was only for a few days."

"I wanted to talk to you about that." He said. "I was thinking last night. How would you like to live with me?" He asked cautiously.

Katie put her juice back down. "I told you, she's going to want us back in a few days."

"I couldn't care less." He said seriously. "I'm concerned about you two. It's not good for you to go back."

She looked at April who looked from Nick to her. "What about April?"

"What about her?" He asked.

"She's not your child. Some people find that hard to deal with." She said. Her mother didn't want to be reminded of Nick, and Todd wasn't her father so they thought of her as the help, instead of a daughter.

"That doesn't matter that she's not blood related. I'll treat her the same way I would treat you." He said.

Katie looked to April again as if April would tell her what to do. April put her juice down and slid under the table. "April sit up." And she did, but she sat next to Nick. Her eyes pleaded with Katie to let them stay with him. "I guess we can see how it goes, for now." She said. Wanting to find out more about Nick before she agreed to live with him. "I still need to stop by the house for a minute." Nick nodded his head and they finished their breakfast.

He pulled the car to the curb of their house and put it in park. "Do you want me to come in?" He asked.

"No, stay with her." She said so that she wouldn't have to carry April in. She came back five minutes later, with a small bag over her shoulder. She sat down in the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.

"Is that all you have?" He said noticing the small bag.

"Yeah, um could we please go." She said placing her hands over her face.

Nick pulled away from the curb and a few blocks later he pulled over. "What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said trying to compose herself.

"Katie, tell me."

"I need to go to CVS." She said simply. He took a breath and merged back onto the road. Five minutes later he pulled into the CVS and the three of them went in. Katie took April's hand and led her through the isles until they came to the first aid section. Katie reached in her pocket and pulled out a ten and a few ones. She looked at the ointments and picked the cheap CVS one and also picked out a pack of large band-Aids. She walked up to the register when Nick found her.

"Does she need sippy cups?" He asked holding a pack of four. Katie nodded, and hid her purchase. He put the cups on the counter and told her to put her things up too. He wouldn't let her pay for it so she slid them up. He paid and carried the bag out. "What's this for? I thought we took care of everything last night." He said as they sat in the car. She looked out the window. "Katie please." He said softly.

"I wouldn't have gone back but we needed something from our room." She began, tears welling in her eyes. "When I came back down the stairs he was waiting with his belt." She cried and showed her arm that had an open gash on it.

Nick drew in a breath, and then anger hit him. "I promise you, I will never let anyone hurt you again." He said as he helped her dress it. She nodded and looked back out the window. "Why don't we go to the mall, I bet we could find some nice clothes and toys for you." He said to the girls, trying to cheer them up. April liked the sound of new toys and smiled. He pulled out of the parking lot and took them to the mall.

Since the parking lot was outside Katie took April by the hand and they began to walk from the car to the mall. Nick held out his hand for Katie to take and she looked at it and gently placed her hand in his. April saw this as Katie coming around to him and so she let go of Katie's hand took Nicks other hand. The first stop they made was at a clothing store. Nick could tell by the clothes that she wore, that she probably hadn't gotten new clothes in a couple years. They went through the store picking out jeans, shirts, skirts, he let her pick out anything she wanted. She was hesitant at first but by the time they finished she had the biggest smile on her face and a few nice clothes to go with it. They stopped at a kids store and got April some new clothes as well, and since she never had a dress, that's all she wanted. So the three of them picked out a few nice sun dresses and Nick paid for them as well. Their last stop was at K B Toys. Nick didn't have much for them to do at his house so he let April pick out some toys to play with and Katie got a few books at the bookstore next to it. She was thumbing through a new book by J. Tucker, when April ran up to her.

"Katie?" She said tugging her shirt.

She squatted down, "What's up?"

"I don't want to go back to mommy. I want to stay with Nick." She said.

"We can for now, but won't you miss mommy."

She shook her head. "Nick is nicer than Todd, and mommy was never home anyway." She said.

Katie was about to answer when Nick came up. "She ran ahead of me." He said. He looked down at April.

"No more tickling." She said giggling. Katie smiled as Nick picked April up and swung her in a circle before throwing her over his shoulder.

"Find anything?" He asked as April was in a fit of giggles.

"Two." She said as they went up front to pay. 'Maybe this could be a new start for us.' She thought.

They left the mall and Nick took them to his house. "I figured you could have this room." He said to Katie as he showed her the room next to his. It was a two bedroom house but there was a den that he figured he could turn into April's room. "We could paint it, you could pick out some cool sheets, maybe get some posters." He said enthusiastically and Katie laughed. It was the first time he heard her laugh and he was hoping it wouldn't be the last. "We could hang a mirror here, hold on." He said placing a hand on the dresser and a hand on his head. "I'm getting overwhelmed by my own good taste." He joked.

"Am I in here too?" April asked.

"You, my dear." He said picking her up. "Will be in here. Although for the time being you'll have to sleep in Katie's room." He said showing her the den. "We could get a cool bed, maybe one of those race car ones."

"Noo." She giggled.

"No?"

"Those are for boys." She said.

Nick remembered she picked out a Disney Princess Barbie doll. "Maybe a white bed with princess sheets?" He smiled.

Her eyes got really big. "Really?"

"Really really." He said putting her down.

"Katie!" She yelled going into the other room. "I'm getting princess sheets." She said happily.

"Wow." Katie said. "Why don't you open up your new Barbie." She said handing her the box. April ran out to the living room and sat in the middle of the floor and began to tear open the box. "You don't have to make anything special." She said to Nick, not getting use to the fact that he actually wanted to.

"I want to. It will be fun, we could all do it together." He said. "I don't have to be at work until tomorrow night so tomorrow we could get paint and paint the two rooms, then order the bed for her room, shop for sheets and posters, it'll be fun." He said.

Katie's eyes welled up with tears as she walked toward him and hugged him. "Than you so much." She said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Don't mention it. You're my daughter, I need to make up for lost time." He said hugging her back.

Katie lay awake in bed that night. She looked down at April who was fast asleep next to her. She heard the dim sound from the tv in the living room. She slowly got out of bed and padded her sock clad feet out to the living room. Nick was sitting on the couch wearing a t shirt and pajama bottoms with his sock covered feet propped up on the coffee table. He looked up when she came down the hall. "Did I wake you?" He asked.

She shook her head and sat next to him. "I couldn't sleep. You?"

"I'm use to working now." He said. Flipping channels. He landed on the discovery channel talking about penguins.

"Did you know that penguins use their wings for swimming, not flying, and that their beaks are hooked on the end to help them catch fish." Katie said quietly.

Nick looked at her curiously. "You know a lot about penguins." He said.

"I know a lot about birds. I love birds. Besides the discovery channel is the only thing worth watching when you can't sleep." She said. "My mom hates birds."

Nick was shocked. She propped her feet on the table next to his and began to rub them together. She would rub the top of her left foot with her right, and then switch, making sure she rubbed them equally. He looked at his own feet as he was unconsciously doing it himself. "Do you like socks?" He asked, wondering if she had the same answer as he did.

"I love wearing socks. I hate going barefoot." She said.

"Me too." He said. The two smiled at what they had in common. "She use to hate it when I talked about birds, then again it was pretty much all I talked about." He said.

There was silence for a minute. "What was she like?" Katie asked. "I mean back when you knew her."

Nick sighed. "She was a great person. We met in highschool, back in Texas. We started dating junior year. She use to have this glow about her. She was always laughing or smiling, and she was nice to everyone. That summer changed her though. She stayed over one night when my parents went away. Then three weeks later she just disappeared. There was a rumor that went around that her family had just decided to move away." He thought for a second. "Now that I think about it. They probably found out she was pregnant and moved her away." He said.

"And she never told you?" She asked.

Nick shook his head and then looked at her. "But I'm glad I found out, even if it was years later." He smiled slinging an arm around her pulling her close. She lay into him and fell asleep a few minutes later, watching about the birds.

An: I realized while I was writing that I shouldn't have lashed out at my reviewers I realized why he/she posted the review and I give out my pity for him/her. (We all know why) Hope you liked. I will post again soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The next day Nick took the girls to target to get sheets for their beds. He had called Semans and ordered April a small white dresser and a small white sleigh bed. Nick was good at saving money for emergencies and he think this qualified. The next stop that morning was to go to Home Depot and get paint. "So what color do you think you would want?" He asked them as they stood in front of all the paint chips.

"Pink." April said. The pink happened to be on top so he picked her up so she could look more closely.

"Witch pink?" He asked.

"This one." She said picking up a light pink colored card.

"That is the perfect color for your room." He praised her. "And what about you?" He said to Katie.

When they were looking at sheets Katie had picked out white sheets with magenta and blue hibiscus flowers and yellow and orange small flowers. Nick had gotten an idea to paint the walls white and then take one wall and paint a mural on it. She agreed with his idea and began to think what she wanted to put on it. "I think I want to do an island scene. With a big palm tree, the ocean, sand and some clouds?" She asked.

"Ohh, good thinking." He said. "I think we should get the basic colors, and then a big can of black and white so we can lighten and darken them." He said picking the two cards. "What colors?"

"A blue, tan, brown, and green?" She said thinking it over. The wall wasn't that big so she wouldn't need much paint.

"Ok. And then if we need another color we can come back." He took the cards she and April picked out and handed them to the man at the counter so he could mix them. "You can draw it today, plan it out and such. And then we could paint it tomorrow."

"And we could do my room today?" April asked.

"Sure." He said with the intentions of doing it today.

"I'm not a very good painter though?" Katie said.

"I have a friend who knows a little bit about painting, like shading and such. We could ask him to help if you want."

"Ok." Katie said, excited about her new room. The paint was ready and Nick put April down and he and Katie carried the cans to the car.

One month later Katie stood in the kitchen doing the dishes from dinner with Nick. The two girls had grown to know him and even began to call him dad. Nick couldn't get enough of that title, and he stayed true to his word, he treated April as his own. April was sitting at the table coloring when the phone rang. "Hello?" She answered.

"Put Nick on the phone." A male voice spoke out.

April jumped down from her chair and went over to the two. Nick flicked his wet fingers at Katie causing her to laugh and do it back to him. "Daddy." April said tugging at his pants. "Phone." She said holding up the phone, once she got his attention.

"Hello?" He said turning the water off as Katie dried the dishes.

"So you've got my kids calling you daddy?" Todd said sternly.

"I'm the only one qualified to fill that position, so yes." He said walking out of the room. Katie heard what he said but figured it was about work.

"They belong here. They are coming back tomorrow." He ordered.

"Actually they belong here. They aren't things you only keep around when you need them. Their children and they need a family." Nick said.

"They aren't your family."

"They are now. And if you want to fight for it, I would be glad to." He said. He was not going to loose these kids, especially not to people like Stephanie and Todd.

"You don't have a choice." He said. "I will be over to pick them up tomorrow afternoon." He said hanging up.

Nick shut the door to his room and threw a glass from the dresser across the room and watched it shatter into pieces as it connected with the wall. He dialed a number on his phone.

"Hello?" The voice answered.

"Cath, did you ever need a lawyer when you were with Eddy? To get custody of Lindsey?" He asked sitting on the bed.

"What happened?" She asked. By now the lab knew about Nick and the two girls, mostly because he constantly bragged about being a father.

"Todd want's them back." He said simply. There was a knock on his door. "Yeah?"

Katie opened the door slightly. "Dad, you ok?" She asked peeking in.

"I'm fine sweety, I just need a few minutes." He said as she nodded and closed the door. "So did you?"

"No, but I have a friend who is well known. He's one of the best in the country." She said. "Hold on I'll get his number." She came back on the phone. "Here it is, 555-2845." She said. "His name is Jeremy Turner. He's probably still at his office." She said looking at her watch. "Call me if you need anything."

He said goodbye and hung up before dialing Jeremy Turner's number. A young girl picked up. "Turner and Jankovich. How may I help you?"

"Is Jeremy Turner in please?" He asked.

"One moment please." There was some elevator music playing and then a man came on the phone.

"This is Jeremy Turner." He greeted.

"Hi, my name is Nick Stokes, I'm a friend of Catherine Willows."

"Hi how are you?" He said, his voice softening when he heard Catherine's name.

"I'm fine. I was wondering if I could make an appointment to meet you." He said.

"I'm pretty booked this week. Let's see if I can squeeze you in though, since you are a friend of Catherine's." He could hear Jeremy typing away. "Ok, I can come in early and meet you at nine thirty?" He said more than asked.

"That would be great. Thank you so much."

"No problem. Nick Stokes correct?"

"Right."

"Ok I will see you tomorrow morning then."

They said goodbye and Nick hung up. He took a few breaths to calm down and walked out to see the two girls coloring. He took an empty seat across from Katie, next to April. "You ok?" Katie asked again.

"Here daddy." April said passing him a Sponge Bob page to color.

He picked up a crayon, looked at Katie and smiled. "I'm fine he said." As he colored he wondered if Todd would try to take them. "How would you two like to come to work with me tonight?" He said.

"Yeah!" April yelled. She liked going to the lab when Greg was there because he would let her help him, although nothing that had to do with a case.

Katie had a confused look on her face. She made a mental note to ask him later. "Sure." She shrugged returning to her coloring.

"We can help Greggo, Katie." April said excitedly.

"April, honey. Why don't you go but your coloring books and crayons in a backpack. Ok?" Nick said, wanting to talk to Katie.

Once April left Katie looked at her father. "What's up?"

"I think you should know what's going on." Nick thought about how to tell her. "Todd has decided to take you back." Katie's eyes looked disappointed. "But he's not getting you. I've made an appointment tomorrow morning to speak with a lawyer. I will fight to keep you." He said placing his hand over his." Katie took a deep breath knowing that he was a man of his word, and he would do anything he could to keep them. She nodded her head telling him she understood, but at the same time she didn't get her hopes up. "I don't want you to, but if it comes down to it, you might have to testify." He said. "We have to prove that he's not a good parent for you two, and that I can be better than him." He said.

"I know. If it means staying with you I'll testify." She said with a small smile. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

They arrived at the lab and Nick put them in the break room while he went to Grissom's office to get his assignment. It was a slow night and they didn't have any assignments for the time being. He walked back to the break room followed by Catherine, Warrick, and Sara and found Katie watching the news, and April coloring nicely at the table. They walked in and sure enough Greg was there coloring with her. "I see you got suckered into the princess book." Nick chuckled as he saw Greg using the pink crayon to color in one of the princesses dress.

"Yeah but I'm doing good, right April?" He said.

She looked at his picture for a minute. "Yeah." She said before going to her own page.

Warrick sat down on the other side of April. "Can I get down on this."

She thought for a minute. "Fo sho." She tried to say what Warrick taught her. She handed him the Sponge Bob book.

"Why do you get Sponge Bob and I get princess." Greg wined.

"Because I'm cool." He said. "Right?" He said holding out his fist to her.

"Yeah." She said giving him a little pound, another thing he taught her. He laughed as he began to color his page.

Half an hour later Grissom got assignments and walked to the break room to find the others. He walked in and saw everyone except Katie sitting around the table coloring. He looked over at Katie who had changed the channel to Discovery. "It looks like you're the only adult here. You want a job." She laughed at his joke as the others put their crayons down. He handed out the assignments and Greg was still coloring.

"When we get back you better be in that lab of yours." Grissom sighed.

"As soon as I finish Snow White." He joked.

Nick came back to the break room after a long shift to find April asleep on the couch and Katie cleaning up. "Hey." He whispered.

"Hey." She said back placing the last of April's crayons back in her bag.

"You ready to go?" He asked.

"Yup." He picked April up and the two walked out of the building and to the car.


	6. Chapter 6

An: Once again thank you to my fans for reviewing. I'd like to take a brief moment and address you. I've noticed that a lot of people would like Nick to be able to keep the kids. This puts a slight damper in my plans of world domination, but I might think about it.

Chapter 6:

The next morning Nick woke up and got the girls, and himself, ready. He followed the directions Catherine gave him and they arrived at quarter after nine. The girls waited by the front desk while Nick went into Jeremy's office. "I appreciate you meeting with me on such short notice, Mr. Turner." Nick said shaking his hand.

"Please call me Jeremy. Now," He said pulling out a file. "Tell me what's going on."

"For the past month Katie Austin and April Howard have been in my custody."

"How did they come into your custody?" He asked taking notes.

"I was working a case that involved Katie and Todd Howard. It was then that their mother had informed me that I was Katie's biological father. She then told me to take them, and she kicked them out of her house."

"So you have been with the children since then." He said clarifying.

"Correct."

"This case involving the child, what did it involve?"

"We had gotten a call abut a fight breaking out in the house. April had called 911, and we found out that Katie was defending herself against Todd." He had made a copy of the report and handed it to Jeremy. "He was physically abusing her."

"I'm assuming that since you are just finding out about Katie, that your name is not on the birth certificate?"

"I don't know."

"Ok, we need to have proof that you are her biological father. So we need to have a paternity test taken." Nick nodded. "If we can show that you can support the children and prove that you are the father, I don't see how we can loose."

"There's one thing. I'm not April's father, Todd is."

Jeremy took a breath in thought. "You say that Katie was abused, correct?" Nick nodded. "This will be slightly more difficult. Do you think there is a chance that the mother will let you legally adopt the children?"

"I'm not sure."

"Alright, let me see what I can do. There is a possibility that Katie will need to testify in court about the physical abuse, and if we could get," He looked at the case file Nick had given him. "Gil Grissom, and yourself to talk about the evidence at the scene." He paused. "I can tell you right now Katie will not be a problem, but April might." He closed the files. "I suggest we meet in one week. That way I can go over your case and figure out the best way to approach it." He said as the two stood up and shook hands again.

"Thank you so much." Nick said before leaving. He walked out of the office and to the reception area where the kids were. "You two want some breakfast?" He asked.

"I do." April said excitedly. He picked her up and they exited the building.

After breakfast Nick took the girls home. When he reached the front door he found it unlocked. He handed his keys to Katie. "Go wait in the car and lock the doors. Don't come out until I come get you ok?" She was scared but she nodded and took April to the car.

Nick took his gun from his hip and pushed the door open with his sleeve. The whole living room was trashed along with the kitchen. He made his way down the hall listening for any noise. She looked in his bedroom, trashed. He looked in the girl's bedrooms, trashed. He went into Katie's room. The wall that was her favorite thing in the house, the wall that took her and Warrick a week to do, was trashed. The intruder took the black paint and wrote 'I'll be back' across the wall. He didn't need any more clues on who did this. As he walked out of the house he called Brass to report the breaking and entry. He hung up and walked to the car door. Katie unlocked the doors and he climbed in, moving April over who was 'driving'. Nick picked up his phone and called Warrick.

There was a muffled, "Hello?"

"Hey, I'm sorry to wake you up man, but could watch Katie and April for a few hours?" Katie and he looked at each other as he said it.

"Is everything ok?" He asked sitting up in bed.

"Yeah, I just have something to do." He said looking at the wheel.

"No problem, you gonna swing by now?"

"Yeah."

"Alright see you in a few." He said hanging up.

"What do you need to do?" Katie asked.

"I just need to talk to Brass. Someone broke into our house." He saw the scared look on her face. "Nothing's missing, I just need to make a report and this way you two won't be bored. Maybe Warrick could take you to the park." He said to April.

"Yeah!" She cried out. Katie however knew something else was going on, but she trusted him and if he was keeping it from her there was a good reason. April crawled in the back and sat in her seat as Nick got out and strapped her in. The ten minute ride to Warrick's house was silent with the exception of April's humming. Katie was still a child to him and he didn't want her to protect her, and that also meant he didn't want her to deal with adult problems, so he chose not to tell her about her wall.

As soon as Nick unbuckled her she ran up to Warrick's front door and rang the bell. He answered the door wearing jeans, a t shirt, and socks. "Warrick!" She yelled as he picked her up.

"Hey kiddo." He said as she wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a hug. He looked out and saw Nick talking to Katie.

"It's only for a few hours, ok?" He said to her. She nodded reluctantly. Nick didn't know what to say as she walked with her head down to Warrick;s house.

"I didn't think I was that bad." He joked.

"Hi Warrick." She said standing next to him.

"I'll be back in a couple hours." He said to Warrick.

"Take your time." He waved him off.

"Ok." He said with one look at Katie. "Gimme a kiss." He said as April leaned over and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Bye daddy." She said waving.

"Bye sweetie." He waved back before getting into his car and driving off.

He pulled up to his house and saw Brass and another officer waiting in his driveway. "Thanks for coming." He said getting out of the car.

"No problem. What happened?" He asked.

"We all came home from breakfast and I found the door unlocked. I did a walk through and nothing seemed to be missing, but the place was trashed." He said as the three of them walked through the house. "Then I found this." He said leading them to Katie's room, showing them the wall.

"Hello?" Came a voice from the front of the hall.

Nick left the room and saw Sara standing by the open door. "Hey Sara." He greeted.

"Griss said there was a B&E, but wow." She said looking out of the room. "Are the kids ok?" She said concerned.

"Yeah, we weren't home when it happened." He said.

"Thank God." She said placing her kit on the ground. "You wanna get started?" She asked pulling out her camera.

"Yeah." They needed to gather evidence even though he already had a pretty good idea who did this. She took pictures moving from room to room and ran into Brass as she entered Katie's room. She took pictures of the wall and the paint can and brush before bringing them to the living room. Nick dusted the handle and found a few prints. He would have to eliminate Katie, Warrick, and himself but he hoped Todd's prints were on it. He bagged the brush as Sara came back from the room.

"That's all I could get." She said.

"Thanks." He said.

"I'll bring all this back to the lab." She offered.

"Alright. If you don't need anything else, I'm going to try and clean up a bit." He said.

"I think that should be it." She said. "I'll come back and help you out." She said before she left for the lab. Nick sighed as he was left alone in the tossed house. His main concern for now was cleaning up that wall, he knew she would be heart broken.

Twenty minutes later Catherine and Sara showed up. Nick had already cleaned up April's room and the two girls started in the living room. Two and a half hours later they had the whole house clean, except for one thing. "The wall." Nick said as the three of them said looking at it.

"Paint remover?" Catherine suggested.

"It would wipe it off, and then she could just paint it on again." Sara said.

"I guess it's better then her seeing this." He sighed. He went to the garage and got a tin of paint remover. He put some on a cloth and wiped the black paint off as the girls left. It said on the can that it would take forty minutes to dry so he went to fridge, took out a bottle of water and sat on the couch with his phone in hand. Twenty minutes into the current football game his phone rang out loudly. "Stokes?"

"Nick, it's Sara. One of the prints from the brush matches Todd." She said.

"Ok, keep that on file, I'll need to use it." He said before they disconnected. Forty minutes had passed since he wiped down her wall and so he stood up and walked to her room to see if it worked. There were two long strips where the paint use to be but he couldn't see the words. He picked up his phone and dialed Warrick's number.

"Brown."

"Hey man, where are ya?" He said hearing laughter in the background.

"Hey, we're at the park. I'm pushing April on the swings." He said.

"How's Katie doing?" He asked.

"I don't know. She's been really quite all day. Right now she's sitting against the tree reading." He said looking over at her.

"Alright, well we got the place cleaned up so I'll come join you guys." He said.

"Ok, what happened?" He asked using his free hand to make her go higher.

"Todd broke in and trashed the place. Left his fingerprints though. I swear that man is dumb as a box of rocks." Nick said getting into his car.

"Why did he break in?" He asked.

"He wants the girls back and I told him he'd have to fight me for them." Nick said, standing by his word.

"You're taking it to court?" Warrick asked, more out of curiosity then unbelievably.

"Yeah, I have to prove I'm a good father and show them that Todd would hurt them."

"Well you have those photos of Katie from the scene that night." He reminded.

"Yeah and Griss might have to testify since he collected evidence on the case." He sighed as he stopped for a light. "They might have someone come around to observe us all." He said referring to him and the girls. "They might even ask some of you questions."

"No problem man. We all know you're a great father." He said.

"Warrick, I want to go on the monkey bars." April yelled to him.

"Ok." He said. "Hey I gotta go, you're coming?"

"Yeah I'll be there in about five minutes." He said before hanging up.

Five minutes later he pulled into a space and parked the car. He got out and walked across the street to the small park. He noticed Warrick holding her up so she could go back and forth on the monkey bars. He then saw Warrick whisper something and she looked towards Nick. "Daddy!" She yelled as she ran to him.

"Hey sweetie." He said picking her up and placing a kiss on her cheek. He looked around and saw Katie by the tree. "Go play with Warrick for a little longer ok?" He told her.

"Are you leaving?" She said with a sad look on her face.

"No honey." He said giving her a smile and rubbing her belly. "I just need to talk to Katie for a minute." He said putting her down.

"Ok daddy." She said running back to Warrick.

Nick walked over and leaned back on his hand as he sat down next to Katie. "Hi."

"Hi." She said not looking up from her book.

"I hear you've been reading all day." He said to her as she continued to read.

"It's a good book." She replied still not looking up.

"C'mon Katie." He said not buying it.

"What?" She said finally looking up.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked trying to figure out why she was in a mood.

"Nothing." She sighed returning to her book.

"Tell me." He nudged her.

"I just want to know what's going on." She looked at him. "Everything was fine this morning, then all the sudden we get shipped of to Warrick. And don't get me wrong I like the guy, but I want you around." She began to tear up. "I've missed you for seventeen years. We have one week together and now we might get taken away. It's not fair." She said leaning into him as he held out his arms for her to cry in.

"Hey. No matter what happens I'm never leaving you. You're stuck with me for life kiddo." He chuckled, causing her to let out a small chuckle herself. "I told you I'm going to do everything I possibly can to let you two stay with me." He said seriously.

"But April's not yours. If she goes I'm going with her. I can't let her be alone there." She said.

"I'm not letting her go either. Whatever it takes, I will do." He said. Katie sighed and nodded her head. She had felt a little better now that she had gotten that out. His phone rang, and if he wasn't obligated to answer it, he would have turned it off. "Stokes." He said as he kept his arm around Katie.

"Nice and shady, hunh?" He asked. Nick knew by his voice who it was. He turned his head looking everywhere for him. "You won't find me." He said with a snicker.

"What do you want?" He said standing up.

"I want them back. I'd sleep with one eye open tonight." He said before hanging up.

Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Don't let him get to you Stokes.' He thought to himself.

"It was him wasn't it." Katie said, breaking his train of thought.

"He smiled down at her, "It was but it's ok. Let's just go home." He said.

She nodded as he pulled her up. No matter what her head told her she was going to believe him. He wasn't going to let them go. Nick took April's hand as they crossed the street and got into the car.


	7. Chapter 7

Nick had made an appointment with Jeremy and he and the girls were on their way. Nick got out and carried April, who was wearing her favorite pink, checkered, sun dress. He was wearing a button up blue shirt and black pants, trying to be as professional as he could. He looked over at Katie, who was dressed in a short grey skirt, a black button up shirt, and black shoes, and smiled at her when she looked over. "Daddy?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Why couldn't we go to Warrick's house?" April asked holding her doll in one hand and holding onto his shoulder with the other.

"Because you and Katie have to talk to a very nice lady. She's going to ask you some questions and then we can leave."

"Oh." April said becoming a bit nervous. She was very shy when it came to knew people, but once she got use to you she became a non-stop chatter box.

"Katie will be with you." He said feeling her tense up. "I'll tell you what, after this is done we can do anything you want today."

"Will you play princesses with me?" She asked hopefully.

Nick was getting flashbacks of his younger days when he lived with five girls. "Sure." He gulped, but hid it with a smile.

They walked into the office and were greeted by Jeremy and Jamie, one of his partners. "Nick." He greeted shaking hands. "This is my associate Jamie Cohen." He said introducing a woman with red hair and blue eyes.

"I'm just going to ask them a few questions." She said shaking his hand.

"Well," He started, placing a hand on Katie's shoulder. "This is Katie and that's April." He said smiling slightly as she hid behind Katie.

"She gets nervous around new people." Katie explained shaking the ladies hand.

Nick bent down to April's level. "I'll be right down the hall, ok? And Katie is going to be with you, so you don't have to be scared." He said. She nodded her head but kept her grip on Katie's shirt.

"Dad." Katie called out as they went their separate ways. She walked up to him and handed him an envelope. "I thought this might help." She said before taking April's hand and following Jamie.

Nick looked at the envelope he sat down, opposite Jeremy, in his office. He turned it over and lifted the flap. Nick drew in a sharp breath as he pulled out the pack of pictures. He scanned through them, about two dozen, each one worse than the next. They were all of Katie, but in each one she captured a new bruise, cut, or worse. He looked down at the bottom corner and noticed that each one had a date and the farthest date back was when she was eleven. He guessed that these were the worst of what he did. Nick was boiling, thinking about what this man did to his daughter.

"Nick?" Jeremy asked again.

Nick looked up, unaware he was being spoken to. "Sorry. Um, Katie gave these to me." He said handing over the pictures.

Jeremy flipped through the pictures before placing them aside. "We have an air tight case for Katie. I spoke with Dr. Grissom about his findings that night and he is willing to testify. I also spoke with a," He looked down at his file. "Warrick Brown. It's good to have someone that can verify your responsibilities as a father. Now." He shuffled a few papers around. "It is customary for a social worker to observe both parties. She will be by your house sometime this week. I can't say when because it's not suppose to be planned for." Nick nodded his head, understanding. "She has already had a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Coby and she has submitted her report to the judge. Court will be held a week from Wednesday, giving the social worker plenty of time to make her report and submit it. Like I said before it is good to have someone to verify your responsibilities. Unfortunately Mr. Coby has someone as well."

"Who the hell would vouch for him?" Nick asked appalled.

"Well he hasn't exactly laid a hand on April." Jeremy pointed out.

"What about neglect? Katie runs that place. He's always to drunk and or stupid to take care of April. Hell he can't even take care of himself. And steph works all the time." Nick counterpointed.

"Look, all I'm saying is that April is going to be one hell of a fight. When I get his witness list tomorrow I'll go through it, do background checks, and so on. I'm going to get him wherever I can." He said.

In another office, Katie and April took the two seats in front of Jamie's desk. April sat her doll nicely on her lap and looked around the office. "Who's this?" Jamie asked trying to be friendly so that April wouldn't be nervous.

"Aura." She said, after looking at Katie.

"Aura, that's an unusual name." She said smiling.

"It's Aurora, like sleeping beauty. She just has trouble saying it." Katie explained.

Jamie nodded her head as she looked at her file. "So what can you tell me about your stepdad?" She asked Katie.

"I prefer Todd, he's not a father of any kind." She said correcting her. "There isn't much to say. When he's not drinking or passed out he's pissed off. And when he doesn't get things his way or at a fast enough pace he gets violent." She said looking down.

Jamie wrote down her notes on a pad. "How does he get violent?"

"Would you like least to worst or chronologically?" She realized she was getting a little nasty. "I'm sorry, I just don't feel comfortable talking about him."

"Anything you can tell me would be good." Jamie coaxed.

Katie looked at her sister. "Earmuffs." She said and April's hands flew to her head and covered her ears. She then turned back to Jamie. "When it first started he only hit my mother, so she started working more and more to escape from him. When she wasn't around he began to turn on me. It first started with him grabbing me and shoving me around. Then he began to hit. Then he kicked, and I learned not to piss him off." She said.

Jamie took a moment to write it down. She had a look of sincerity in her eyes. "Has he ever gone after April?"

"No." She answered without hesitation. "I would never let him touch her." She said angrily.

Jamie continued to ask questions to Katie and then asked a few questions to April. When it was all over Nick was waiting for them by the receptionists desk. Katie felt uncomfortable now that she let Nick see the pictures and she could tell he was too by his body language. April came up to him and took his hand and they walked in silence to the car.

The silence continued all through the car ride but was broken when April stepped out of the car. "Daddy, are you mad at Katie?" She said noticing how they weren't talking.

"No sweetie." He said.

"Then how come you're not talking to her?" She said looking up at him with her big blue eyes.

"We just needed some quite time to think." Katie said for him. April nodded her head understanding. She ran into the house and went to her coloring that was left on the table.

"Young lady, what did you need to do today?" He asked the little girl.

"Oh I forgot." She said as she packed her crayons and coloring book in her box and went off to her room to clean.

Katie had already made her bed and went to work on the few dishes in the sink. Nick went to his own room and thought about what to say to Katie. When he came out she was running around the living room straightening up this and that. He knew something else was wrong when she rearranged the same pile of magazines five times. "Hey." He said standing to the side. She simply nodded and continued to clean. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" He said lightly again.

"Not right now." She said knowing what he wanted to talk about and not wanting April to hear. Nick understood and went to the kitchen to make a phone call.

Twenty minutes later April came out of her room wearing a pink t shirt and overalls. She sat on the couch with Aura and turned on the tv when the doorbell rang. She padded her pink sock clad feet to the door and opened it. "Hi Warrick." She said as he picked her up.

"Hey kiddo." He hugged her and then put her down.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he walked in and closed the door.

"I came by to see if you wanted to go to the park." Nick had asked him to take April out for a while, but he didn't say why.

"Yeah!" She cheered excitedly. "But I have to ask daddy."

"Ask me what?" Nick said walking into the room.

"Daddy can I go to the park with Warrick?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure. Go get your shoes." He said as she ran to the hall closet and pulled out her white and pink princess sneakers. She sat on the couch as Nick tied her shoes and Warrick grabbed her jacket. Warrick helped her put it on and she held Aura in one hand and his hand in the other as they left.

Katie stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She walked into her room and changed into jeans, a tank top, and a zip up sweatshirt. She came out to the living room and saw Nick watching tv. "Where's April?" She asked.

"Warrick took her to the park." He said turning off the tv when she came into the room. "I figured we could have some time to talk." He said as she took the seat next to him.

"If it's about the pictures, I don't think there's much to say."

"We're going to a hearing next week." Katie nodded her head. "I think that you and I need to talk about reality. I refuse to let you go back Katie." He said.

Katie looked at him. She knew that Nick would get custody of her, everyone knew, but April was the real issue. "I can't let her go back alone."

Nick noticed that she got his stubbornness. "I can't guarantee that the judge will give her to me. I'm not her biological father."

Katie shook her head. "We're a package. She's still my sister and I vowed from the day she was born that I would protect her. I'm not worried about me. I can handle it, she can't."

"You shouldn't have to handle it." Nick said getting upset.

Katie knew he was angry with the situation and not with her. "This may sound wrong to you, but you learn to live with the hand you're dealt. As long as I'm around April has a chance."

"What about Stephanie's parents?" He said thinking the girls could stay there if they couldn't go with him.

"They would take her, but if Todd comes knocking they'll give her up." She said playing with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"What about you?" He asked curiously.

"April has a dad. When mom first came to Vegas she started work right away. When she had me her parents gave her a little time to rest and then they kicked us both out. Then she got married and had April and they invited her back. She was married and had a kid but he wasn't my father." She said sadly. "The bottom line is that I go where she goes. No matter what." And that ended the conversation.

"I want to go with my dad." Katie said to the social worker. The social worker looked from her then to Jeremy and Jamie. Jeremy nodded and Katie bent down to April. "I have to go with daddy for a while, but this nice lady is going to keep you company ok?" Today was the day of the hearing. Today decided the fate of Katie Austin and April Coby. Today decided the rest of Nicks life.

"But I want to go with daddy too." She said sadly.

"We have to go with the grown ups." Nick added.

"Promise you'll come back for me?" She said keeping her grip on Nicks hand.

Nick could never make a promise he couldn't keep so he was forced to just look at her. "I'll come get you in a few minutes." Katie said to her.

The social worker began to drag April away. "No. Daddy." She cried out as her hand was ripped from his. "Daddy." Her screams echoing in the hallway, but the only thing Nick could do was turn away. It was ripping his heart out to hear her cry and scream and know there was nothing he could do about it.

"It's ok." Katie said placing a hand on her shoulder. Nick pulled her to him as he tried to compose himself. Katie rubbed a comforting hand up and down his back. Catherine, Sara, and Greg had come along for support and Warrick and Grissom had agreed to testify on Nicks behalf.

Katie sat between Greg and Warrick as Catherine and Sara sat behind them. Nick sat at the table in front of the rows next to Jeremy. Jamie sat at the table to the right representing Katie and April. As hard as Katie tried she couldn't help but take a peek at the table to the left. The one where Todd sat. When he caught her eye he winked and smiled. Warrick caught this and placed a protective arm around Katie's shoulders, causing her to look away.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Reiner." The guard announced and everyone obeyed. Once the judge sat down everyone else followed.

"The case of Mr. Nicholas Stokes vs. Mr. Todd Coby, in the matter of custody concerning Katie Austin and April Coby is now in session."

After the lawyers made their opening statements it was time for the witnesses to be called to stand. "Your honor, I'd like to call our first witness, Doctor Gil Grissom." Jeremy said. Grissom made his way to the stand with his folder.

Warrick gave Katie's hand a squeeze when he felt her tense up. Grissom was sworn in and then Jeremy began with his questions. "Dr. Grissom, on the night of May eighth is it true that you received a domestic disturbance call from the Coby household?"

"Yes it is." Grissom answered.

"Would you please tell the court what the caller said."

"The 911 operator received a call from a frightened young girl. She told the operator that her father was hitting her sister again."

"And what did you discover when you arrived at the scene?"

"I walked into the house and surveyed the area where I was told the fight took place. I found blood and hairs on the corner of a framed picture hanging on the wall, along with a blood and saliva mixture on the bottom stair." Grissom said passing his pictures to the judge.

"And when you compared the blood, hairs, and mixture in your lab, what did you find?"

"That all three belonged to Katie Austin."

"Lastly would you share your final results with the court."

"The evidence proved that after Miss. Austin was attacked by Mr. Coby, she fought back in self defense and the defense of her sister."

"We have no more questions your honor."

"Mr. Harsburg, your witness." The judge spoke.

Both Todd and his lawyer knew that Katie wasn't going to be in custody of him, so their focus went to April. "Dr. Grissom what led you to think that my client caused this abuse?"

"From the words Miss. Austin and Miss. Coby. There had also been previous domestic disturbances from the Coby household."

"And what, may I ask, were your findings of abuse on April Coby?"

Grissom inwardly swore. "There were no findings on Miss. Coby." He said.

"That's all your honor." Mr. Harsburg said taking his seat.

"You may step down Mr. Grissom." The judge said. "Mr. Turner, you may call your next witness."

"We would like to call Warrick Brown to the stand." Warrick patted Katie's knee and walked up to the stand. After he was sworn in Jeremy began his questions again. "Mr. Brown, please state for the court your relationship with my client." Jeremy asked, walking up to the stand.

"We're best friends and coworkers."

"Would you say that my client is a responsible adult?"

"Yes." Warrick said without hesitation.

"How can you verify?"

"Well when it comes to those girls he always puts them first. He makes sure that they have clothes on their backs, food in their stomachs, he would lay his life down for either one of them." Nick realized what he was saying was true. He wouldn't even have to think about it. "Recently he's been getting booklets from different schools for the fall. He asked me to watch them so that he could go interview the schools and find the best one."

"What about as a person? Would he be likely to beat either girl?"

"Objection your honor." Mr. Harsburg shouted out.

"Sustained."

"We have no further questions, your honor."

Mr. Harsburg stood up and buttoned his jacket. "Mr. Brown, does Mr. Stokes leave the kids with you often?"

"No." He shook his head.

"How often would you say?"

"Well only twice, but that was becau-"

He cut Warrick off, "But Mr. Stokes has only had them for a week."

"Yes, but-" Todd smiled as he watched his lawyer.

"That's all your honor."

The judge wrote some notes down and then dismissed Warrick from the stand.

"Do we have to call her?" Nick whispered to Jeremy as Warrick sat down.

"I hate it as much as you do."

"Your witness council."

"We would like to call Katie Austin to the stand."

Warrick squeezed her hand. "Just don't look at him." He advised.

She quietly made her was to the stand and was sworn in. "Miss. Austin, would you please describe the events that took place on May eighth?" He asked politely.

Katie closed her eyes, trying to pretend Todd wasn't in the room. "I was tucking my sister in when he yelled for me to get him a beer. I went downstairs," She took a few seconds to compose herself. "and when I turned around from the fridge he was standing there. He said I wasn't fast enough, and then he hit me across the face. He smiled at me and told me that someone else would pay. He started to go up the stairs to my sisters room but I stopped him." A tear broke free and slid down her cheek.

"Let the record show reference to evidence 'C'." He said holding up one of the documented photos that the paramedic had taken. He then turned back to Katie. "Thank you Miss. Austin." He said kindly to her. "No further questions."

Todd whispered something to his lawyer before Mr. Harsburg began questioning Katie. "Miss. Austin, how exactly did you stop my client?"

She looked at Nick as the lawyer spoke, she was afraid to look else where. "I grabbed his leg."

"Causing him to fall down the stairs?"

She began to cry and Nick could see that she was beginning to think she was guilty. "He was only on the bottom step."

"But you did in fact trip him, and then proceed to knock him unconscious."

"Objection your honor." Jeremy shot up.

"He was going after my sister." Katie said to the judge.

"Sustained."

"No further questions."

"You may step down Miss. Austin." He said.

"I was only trying to protect her." She said silently as she stepped down from the stand. Nick was doing all he could not to jump out of his chair and hug Katie close to her, to tell her that it was all going to be ok. But he silently watched as she walked past him and took her seat next to Warrick, crying on his shoulder.

"I think we should bring up Sara. She can testify about the break-in. She lifted fingerprints and all." Nick said.

"It's been excluded."

Nick was shocked. "What? Why?"

"Because and officer by the name of Tyner, never filed it." Nick suppressed his urge to yell profanities. No doubt Todd payed Tyner off.

"Mr. Turner, do you have any other witnesses?"

"No your honor." He said standing.

"Then Mr. Harsburg, you may call your first witness."

"Your honor we call Mr. Bernard Holding to the stand." A man from the back of the court came to the stand and swore to tell the truth. "Mr. Holding, how long have you known my client for?"

"Since college." The mans suit was askew and Nick and Jeremy looked at each other both wondering which bar this guy came from.

"And in all the time you've been with my client have you ever seen him beat or go after his own daughter, April Coby?"

"No, it was just that bastard child."

"Watch it." Nick shouted standing up.

Mr. Holding was about to respond back when the judge called for order. "Mr. Stokes, control yourself. The next time it happens I will hold you in contempt." He said banging his gavel.

Nick sat back down and Mr. Harsburg smiled. "Please continue."

"Anyway like I was saying, she ain't even his. She was lucky he was as excepting as he was. She deserved it anyway. Always talking back, never taking care of her responsibilities. But no, he never laid a hand on his daughter April."

"Thank you Mr. Holding. No further questions."

Jeremy had no questions for Mr. Holding and Judge Reiner took a few moments to take notes. Then each lawyer made a closing statement and everyone was kicked out of the court room as he went off to make a decision.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"His honor is ready." The guard said coming into the hall.

Nick took a deep breath and ran a hand down the buttons on his jacket. Katie took his hand as they walked back into the court room. He looked at Katie and returned her small smile, with one of his own. Katie took her seat in the row behind Nick and watched as the judge entered.

Judge Reiner took his seat as Nick and Todd remained standing. "I've taken time to review the case." He had worked with Nick on other cases and knew he was a nice guy. As soon as Katie saw the look he gave Nick, it was all over. "When it comes to the custody of Katie Austin, I hereby award Nick Stokes." Nick let out a light sigh as half the weight was lifted. "In regards to the custody of April Coby, I hereby award Todd Coby."

"How can you do that? It's not right. She won't survive." Katie said standing up and yelling.

Nick knew that her yelling was only going to get her in trouble. "Katie stop. It's not helping any." He said, throwing his arms around her.

"How can you let him take her? You know he's just going to hurt her." She cried.

Nick knew there was nothing he could do as he watched Todd walk out of the court, smiling. "Come on." He said.

"No." She said. "I told you from the beginning, I go where she goes."

"I'm not letting you go back to him." He said sternly.

"I don't care what you want. I'm going to protect her." She said storming out of the court.

Nick drove home and parked his car. In the past two weeks he had changed, and anyone could tell you. He went from a ladies man and not having a care in the world, to becoming an outstanding father. He was told he was a father without any notice or preparation. Just bam, you're a father. In the past two weeks his whole life and priorities had been turned upside down. Those two girls needed him as much as he needed them. He looked in at April's room. Her bed all made up, her toys neatly put away. He looked down and saw Aura, her favorite doll. He picked it up gently and walked to Katie's room. The place she called her own, the only place she ever had that belonged to only her. He collapsed on the bed and began to cry. He had just lost his entire life.

Katie and April had been back for a week and nothing had changed. Katie was still being hit and April was still being neglected. "I miss daddy." April said as she sat at the kitchen table. She refused to color or play since she left Nick. She would just sit there and stare out the window or find an interesting spot on the floor to concentrate on.

"I do too." Katie said. April wasn't the only one who lost interest in things. Katie had been so involved with April and trying to make her happy that she stopped eating. She would make food for April but then she would remember how she and Nick would cook or do the dishes together and she would loose her appetite.

"Why can't we go see him?" She asked.

"We're not allowed to. He'll get in trouble." She answered. Todd had gotten a restraining order against Nick preventing him from seeing the girls. April sunk in her seat. "I'll fix us some dinner ok? Why don't you go upstairs and play?" She knew she probably wouldn't but it was worth a try anyway. Todd was once again passed out on the couch and so she didn't have to watch April constantly, making sure he didn't touch her.

"Ok." She said going slowly to her room. As soon as she heard the door close upstairs Katie ran into the bathroom. She slid along the wall to the floor, her body shaking in sobs. She wanted to live with Nick, but there was no way she could leave April behind.

Twenty minutes later Katie stepped out of the bathroom to find Todd still unconscious. She went back to the kitchen and began to make dinner.

Nick walked down the police station hallway. He had wrapped up another case, but to him it didn't matter. He found himself spending more and more time at the lab working on cases or trying to get a new case started. "Daddy." Nick stopped in his tracks, turning to the all too familiar sound.

April ran to him hugging onto his leg. He saw the officer approaching him, seeming to be with her. He prayed to God that Todd hadn't caused anymore trouble. "What are you doing here sweetie?" He said squatting down to her level.

"Mr. Stokes, she has to come with me." The officer said.

"I came to see you daddy." She said with a smile on her face.

"Where's Katie?"

"She's at home. She doesn't know I came." She said lowering her head.

One question popped into his head, how did she get here? "Sir I have to take her." The officer said again.

"No. I want to stay with my daddy." She said taking Nicks hand.

"I think you should go with him." Nick said.

"You don't want me?" April said her eyes as big as her whole face, beginning to drip tears.

Nick picked her up, "It's not that sweetie. I'll come with you ok?" He said trying to prevent the tears. April nodded her head as she rubbed her eye. "You tired?" He asked, following the officer receiving another nod.

By the time they reached Brass's office Nick had been filled in with what the officer knew. He sat April down in a chair. His phone began to ring. "I'll just be out there ok?" He said to April. She was to exhausted by now and simply nodded, rubbing her eye again. He walked out the door and picked up the phone. "Stokes."

"Dad, I can't find April, she's missing."

"It's ok, she's here at the station." He said part of him feeling happy to hear her voice again.

"The station? I'll be right there." She said hanging up and speeding off.

When she reached the station she was directed to Det. Brass's office. She walked in and saw Nick, April, and Brass sitting and talking. "April you know you're not allowed to leave without me knowing."

"You said I couldn't go." She yelled back.

"Katie, I need to talk to you." Nick said leading her outside.

"I don't know what happened. I'm usually so careful with her. I was cooking dinner and I went up to her rom to get her and she wasn't there. I didn't even hear the door close." She said running a hand through her hair.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is, I'm the only parent she has." She said.

It stung Nick to hear this but he knew what she meant. "She was found wandering by Park Blvd." He said. Park Blvd. was one of the busiest streets in Vegas. "Some guy saw her about to cross into the street and held her back. When no one came looking for her he called the cops. I was here on a case and we ran into each other. She said she was coming to see me."

"She knows she's not allowed, but I can see why she wanted to come to you. Everything's going down hill." She said starting to cry. "She's become this vegetable. She won't play or color, nothing seems to make her happy these days."

Nick pulled her in for a hug and let her cry it out, not knowing what to say. Katie's stomach growled and she hoped it wasn't to loud. "Hungry?" Nick said joking about it.

"No, just upset." She half lied.

Nick knew what he had to do. "Why don't you take April home." He said.

She nodded and was sad not knowing when she would see Nick again.

Nick pulled up to Mimi's Diner just off the strip. He walked in and spotted Stephanie serving tables. She put the plates down in front of the customers before looking to the door, seeing Nick. She smiled at the table and as she turned to leave one of the guys gave her a tap on the butt. She held her breath but kept walking. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"We need to talk."

"Is she in trouble again."

"Not in the sense your talking about." Nick followed her to the counter and took a seat. "April almost walked across Park Blvd. today." He said. No matter how much she tried she couldn't mask the fright in her eyes. "Some stranger found her and stopped her. He called the cops after waiting half an hour for a parent to show up looking for her."

"And where was Katie?" She said bitterly.

"Making dinner and watching out for Todd." He said. "She's seventeen Steph, she doesn't need to be a mom right now."

"She needs to help out." Nick looked at her, even she knew he was right. "What do you want me to do? You want Katie you can take her, but the court gave custody of April to Todd."

"You and I both know that April needs a better home. Todd can't even take care of himself and you're working all the time, so who would look after her if I took Katie."

"I have to work. Without work we have no money." She said.

"You choose your life, they didn't."

"My parents choose my life. You think I wanted to leave you behind? They made me leave."

"Then be better than them. Let April have a better life if it's out there for her."

"You already tried to gain custody and lost."

"If you let me adopt her they'll have no problem. And you can visit anytime you want, I wouldn't stop you." He said, his eyes pleading with hers. "She almost died today Steph. One more step and she would have been run over."

Steph looked away knowing he was right. April had been conceived one night when Todd was on a drunken rampage, and in all honesty she didn't know how much longer she would even last. "Ok." She said. "She can live with you."

Nick was beaming. "Are you sure?"

"You and I both know that you can provide better for her. And truthfully they seemed to be happier with you anyway." She said sadly, even though she knew she was doing the right thing.

"Can I ask you one thing?" She nodded. "Why did you treat Katie different?"

"Because she reminded me of leaving you." She said a tear shedding.

Nick looked into her eyes and placed a hand on top of hers. "Thank you." He said quietly giving her a hug. "And I meant what I said, you can visit anytime."

"Just go." She said. He didn't say another word, just gave one look back at her and left to his car.


	9. Chapter 9

An: Hello readers. I know you're all mad at me for not updating, but for sake of argument let's just say I fell off the face of the earth, and the boy came with me. Anyway i've posted a new chapter and I have a decision to make, but since I'm not good at making decisions I'm going to let you make them. I could end the story here and now and be done with it or i could continue, but the other chapters I have are strictly Nick beinga parent and what he goes through with a teenager. There's no abuse or kiddnapping or anyother such stuff. So if you wante me to leave it here write a review and tell me to leave it here if you want me to continue with Nicky's parenting (and there's some good stuff) then write a review and tell me to keep going. It's all in your hands. With that said, enjoy...

Chapter 9:

Nick went back to Jeremy and told him that she agreed to let him adopt the girls. Jeremy drew up the necessary papers and told Nick that they had to arrange a meeting with Stephanie and her lawyer in order to sign the papers and make it official. Nick slept easy that night thinking that soon he would have the girls back and he would give them the best life they could ever have.

His sleep was short lived as his cell phone began to ring. "Stokes." He answered groggily.

"DADDY!" April cried into the phone.

"April?" Nick shot straight up in bed. "Are you ok? What's going on?" He panicked.

"Katie's not moving."

Nicks heart stopped in his chest. "What happened to her?"

"Todd started yelling and Katie told me to go to my room. Then I heard the car leave and I went downstairs and saw Katie in the kitchen not moving. And I can't find Mommy." She cried out.

"Is he there now?" He asked throwing on his pants, shirt, and shoes.

"No." April said. "I'm scared daddy."

"It's ok I'm here. I'm coming right over ok." He said not wanting her to be scared but he couldn't mask the fear in his voice. He climbed into his Tahoe and peeled out doing at least ninety to get there on time. Two minutes later he pulled into her driveway. "I need you to come open the door for me sweetie." He said in a calm voice.

April ran to the door and let Nick in leading him to the kitchen. His heart refused to beat when he saw Katie lying in a big puddle of blood. Without having to think he scooped her up and ran to the car making sure April was there too. "April go in the front and buckle up." He said laying Katie in the back. She did as she was told and Nick sped off to Desert Palms.

He called Warrick when Katie went into surgery asking if he could come down. He was so beyond pissed that his thoughts were clouded and he was in no state of mind to look after April.

Twenty minutes later Nick continued to ring his hands on the towel he was offered. He used it to wipe the blood from his hands but as he tightened his grasp around the terrycloth he wished his hands were wrapped around Todd's neck. Warrick had shown up a few minutes after Nick called and he was talking to April, trying to keep her mind off of her sister in the operating room. Nick glared at the floor as his breath continued to come out in short angry spurts. He was her father, he was suppose to protect her. A nurse ran out of the room and ran back in with another doctor. Nick stood up and had it not been for the wall behind him his chair would have been knocked to the ground. He paced back and forth until he couldn't take it anymore. Her drew back his fist and smashed it into the painted brick wall. He drew back again only to continue his abuse on the innocent wall. Warrick ran over and held his arm back "Stop." He said firmly.

"Let go." Nick said in an eerily quiet tone.

"Look at her." Warrick said.

Nick turned to April and saw her cowering with her legs to her chest holding them tightly and crying into her knees. He realized that he had to put his anger aside for now and be there for her. He took a few steps toward her and watched as she let out a soft cry and hid. It was then that his eyes grew soft. He looked back at the small amount of blood on the wall, then down to his fist. She was frightened of him. She saw her sister get beat up everyday and now she saw him taking abuse on a wall. True it was an inanimate object but she had never seen him this angry before. "I'm sorry baby." He pleaded squatting down in front of her. "I just got a little upset that's all." She took a small peak over her knee. "It's ok, I won't do it anymore. I promise. I'm sorry I scared you." He said holding out his arms.

"You promise." April whispered.

"I promise." He reassured. She opened her arms and allowed him to pick her up. Her arms went around his neck and her legs around his waist. He held her tight and listened as she cried, beginning to cry himself.

"Is Katie going to be ok?" She asked in her small tone.

Nick couldn't lie to her. "I don't know sweetie. We have to wait for someone to talk to us." He said honestly. He sat down with April in his lap and held onto her as he rocked back and forth. "Was mommy home when this happened?" He asked.

"Todd was yelling at her when I went upstairs and I heard mommy yelling at him." She said in between sucks on her thumb.

Nick nodded and continued to sooth April. She was fast asleep on his shoulder when the doctor came out. "Mr. Stokes?" He addressed.

"Yes." He said as Warrick took April and Nick went to speak with the doctor. "How is she? Will she be alright?"

"She'll be fine." Dr. Hook smiled. "She has two broken ribs, a broken arm, a sprained ankle, and she had some internal bleeding. But the good news is that you brought her in here soon enough and we were able to stop it. You can see her if you like but she's still under the anesthesia. She should be awake by tomorrow though." He said.

"Thank you so much." Nick said to him. He walked back over to Warrick. "She's going to be ok." Warrick let out a sigh that he had been holding since he received the phone call. "She's banged up a bit, but nothing to serious." He said his emotions being somewhere between crying and laughing. "Can you stay with her for a few more minutes?" He said brushing April's bangs lightly.

"You don't even have to ask." He said shooing him off.

Nick smiled a thank you and walked the short distance to Katie's room. He opened the door and saw Katie lying with the sheet around her waist. Her right arm was in a cast, laying at her side, and he could see bruises and cuts on her arms and face. A tear slipped from his eye as he brought a gentle hand to her face and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "I swear to God on my soul Katie. I will never let him touch you again. If I have to lock you in your room for the rest of your life, he will never get to you." He said sealing his promise with a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back in the morning ok?" He said not really expecting an answer. He gave her another kiss on her head and walked out of the room. He picked April up into his arms and left the hospital for his house.

He balanced April with one hand as he opened the door and walked back to April's room. He lay her on the bed and removed her shoes before placing her under the covers. He kissed the top of her head and turned her night light on. He walked to the door and closed it half way, glancing at her sleeping figure before turning away. He stripped his bloody shirt off and threw it in the bathroom garbage before turning on the shower water. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and stepped into the shower. He let the water cascade down his chest and then lowered his face to the warm water, running a hand over his face trying to wash away all the memories of tonight. He turned around and let the water run down his back. He knew he was to tired to think but he couldn't help it. "She's safe there Stokes." He told himself. "She's going to be fine." He picked up the bar of soap and began to scrub away at his skin. When he was finished he wrapped a towel around his waist and wiped away at the mirror. He looked at his reflection and sighed. He decided to make an effort at sleep and padded his way to his bedroom. He changed into pajama bottoms and slipped under the covers.

He felt something in his gut and he didn't like it so he picked up his phone. "Griss, it's Nick. Something happened at Katie's house- She'll be fine, listen I think someone should go over there and check it out. The blood in the kitchen is Katie's but I think we might have a missing person too. Her name is Stephanie Coby. Yeah her mom. Thanks, let me know what happens and I'll bring April by in the morning. She's the one that found her. I know. Ok, thanks again." He finished and hung up. He rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes trying to get some sleep.

He had been asleep for a few hours until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked over to the side of the bed and saw April standing there, crying. "I had a bad dream." She said sniffling.

"Oh, come here baby." He said lifting the covers and moving over. She slid in next to him and cuddled into his chest as he put his protective arms around her. "You wanna tell me what it was about?" He asked rubbing her back.

"Todd came back and he pulled me away from you. And I tried to scream but nothing was coming out. And you kept running but I was going further away." She said starting to cry again.

"Shh, it's ok darlin'. I'm not going to let him get you, ok? I give you my word." He said to her, which seemed to make her calm down a bit.

"Daddy?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Is Katie going to be ok?" She asked for the second time that night, hoping that she would get a different answer then before.

"She's going to be fine." He said giving her a kiss on top of her head. "I thought maybe tomorrow morning you could make her a picture and we could bring it to her." He suggested.

"I think she would like that." She said half asleep. Nick smiled as he rubbed her back until they both fell asleep.

The next morning Nick and April woke up early. He helped her get dressed and then made breakfast as April colored a get well card. When they were finished Nick drove to the police station before the hospital. "Tell him what you told me." Nick said holding April in his lap as they sat in Brass's office.

"Todd came home and started yelling at Katie. She told me to go to my room and when I got to the top of the stairs mommy came home. Then she started to yell at Todd." April said sadly.

"Do you remember what happened after that?" Brass asked.

She looked up at Nick before continuing. "I heard the door open and close so I went downstairs and I found Katie. She wasn't moving so I called daddy." She said then put her thumb back in her mouth. They still had no word on Stephanie and since April couldn't do anymore they left to go visit Katie.

He stopped at the small store across the street and picked up a bouquet of flowers and two balloons. When they walked into the room they saw a whole lot of flowers and balloons. "Who brought all these?" April asked.

Nick set the gifts down and looked at the cards. He smiled as he read the card from everyone from work. "They're from the guys at the lab." He said to her. "They must have stopped by after work." He said to himself.

"Is she up yet?" April asked, scared to let go of his hand.

"Not yet." He said looking over at Katie. He sat down in the chair and pulled April onto his lap.

She pulled a pair of socks out of her overalls pocket. "She likes to were these when she gets sick." She said referring to the thick socks.

Nick smiled at her. "That was good thinking."

"I know." She said with a sigh. Nick shook his head with a smile and pulled a magazine from the table next to her bed.

After a few minutes April sat on the floor and began to color in her book. Nick leaned over and took Katie's hand in his. He looked down at her hand and let his mind wander with thoughts.

Katie's mind flooded with memories of the fight. She opened her eyes and drew in a sharp breath, but as soon as she did a sharp pain grew in her chest and she attempted to curl in the fetal position. "Katie?" Nick sat up worried. "What's wrong?" He panicked. She couldn't breath and she was in tremendous pain. Nick ran to the door and ran to the first nurse he saw. "Get Doctor Hook, there's something wrong with my daughter." He told her before she ran down the hall from where she came. Nick ran back to Katie's side.

"Daddy, what's wrong with her?" April asked scared.

"It's ok sweetie. I got the doctor." He said more to Katie then April.

April moved aside as the doctor came in. "What happened?" He asked running to her side.

"I don't know she woke up and then it was like she couldn't breathe." Nick explained.

Dr. Hook took a needle from the nurse and put it in her arm. Katie immediately calmed down and lay still. After he checked her over, Dr. Hook pulled Nick aside. "She's fine now. She was having chest pains. Because of her broken ribs if she takes in sharp breaths, or gets over excited it cause her lungs to expand to rapidly and push against her ribs. I gave her a mild relaxer, but she'll be fine." He said walking out.

Nick let out a breath relieved to know she was alright. He looked over to her bed and saw that April had pushed the chair over and was now kneeling on it.

"You ok, Katie?" She asked leaning on the bed.

Katie took a few breaths to calm down and then looked over at her sister. She smiled at her and lifted the sheets. "Come here." She whispered.

April smiled and climbed in next to her big sister. "You scared us." She said.

"Us?" Katie asked, not seeing Nick in the room.

"I called daddy when Todd left. I didn't know what to do." She said sadly.

"You did the right thing kid." She said kissing her on the head.

"Hey kiddo." Nick said kissing Katie's head before sitting in the empty chair.

"Hey." She said softly to him. It was then that she realized April was the one that found her and Nick was the one that brought her here. She began to tear up out of embarrassment.

"Don't cry, you're alright now." He said petting her hair down.

"For now." She said. "I don't want to go back."

"You don't have to." Nick said.

"But April-"

"Your mom gave me permission to adopt both of you." He smiled.

That was possibly the best news Katie had ever gotten in her entire life. "She did?" She asked almost not believing it.

"She did."

"What's adopt?" April asked.

"Well darlin', that means that you get to come live with me at our house and there's nothing anyone can do about it." He smiled.

"Yeah!" April yelled out.

Katie smiled and looked around the room. "Who are all these from?" She asked about the flowers.

"Your friends from the lab." Nick answered.

"And we got you these." April said pointing to the flowers and balloons on the table near her bed. Nick passed her the card. "And I made this for you." She said proudly.

Katie smiled as she read the get well card. The front of the card had three people, who she guessed to be Nick, April, and herself, and they were all holding hands with a sun and house in the back ground. Katie opened the card and inside it said, 'To Katie get well. Love April.' "Thank you sweetie." She said as she gave her sister a kiss.

Nick and April stayed for a couple hours but Katie and Nick knew that April couldn't spend all day in the hospital. So late that afternoon they left so Katie could get some rest. Katie smiled as they left the room and then drifted off to sleep.

She must have been sleeping for a few hours but there were voices that were slowly breaking through. They seemed all to be whispering. "Don't wake her up." One scolded

"Why not?" The next one said.

"Because she needs to sleep." The third spoke.

"She slept all day." The second said. Katie slowly opened her eyes to see Greg get whacked upside the head.

"Hey." She said rubbing her eyes. Once she was awake she looked to see that her visitors were none other than Greg, Warrick, and Grissom.

"Hey girl." Warrick said petting her head.

"How are you feeling?" Grissom asked.

"I'm doing better." She smiled.

"How long you in here for?" Greg asked.

"A couple days." She sighed.

"You should rest. We just wanted to come by and see how you were." Grissom said.

"Thanks." She said to them.

"I brought you something." Greg said. "Just in case you had to be stuck here." He winked.

She smiled at him and turned to Grissom. "I need to talk to you." She said with a serious expression. Warrick and Greg said goodbye and waited outside for Grissom.

"What's up?" He asked sitting in the chair.

She played with her hands before looking up at him. "He killed her." She said returning to her hands.

"Who killed who?" He asked curiously.

She sighed. "Todd killed mom." She said. "It was the first time she stood up for herself. She was trying to protect me."

"Shh." He coaxed. "Just go slow." He said placing a hand on hers.

"He came home angry as usual and I told April to leave the room. He started to take it out on me and mom came home. Normally she wouldn't do anything because he just switches to her but he kept on me and she ran over and fought him off. He pushed her away and that's when his last blow knocked me to the floor. He kicked me twice and," new tears were coming, "the last thing I saw was he grabbed her by the back of the head and knocked her against the fridge." She ended covering her face with her hand.

"I'm going to find him, both of them." He promised her.

"I just want it to end." Katie said.

"It's over. Nick and the rest of us aren't going to let anything happen to you or April. You have my word." Katie nodded and Grissom gave her a hug before walking out.

After calming down a little, Katie opened the backpack and saw Greg's game boy with a bunch of games, and a load of cd's and batteries to go with his cd player. She gave a small laugh before putting the bag in the chair and giving into sleep.

Two days later Katie was given the ok to go home and Nick, April, and Greg went to pick her up. They walked into her room and saw the nurse making the bed. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Katie Austin?" He half asked, wondering where she was.

"She just left about an hour ago." The nurse smiled. "Her dad came to pick her up."

"But, you're her daddy." April said to Nick.

Nick ran to the desk. "Who authorized my daughters release?" He demanded.

"Who's your daught-." The nurse asked, most likely new.

"Katie Austin."

"I released her this morning." She said. "Her father came to pick her up."

"I'm her father." He yelled. Greg picked April up into his arms sensing she was getting nervous at the yelling.

"Cindy, go give these to Dr. Curtis." Another nurse came up. Once the girl left she turned to Nick. "May I help you sir?" She said in a calm voice.

"Yes, I'd like to know how my daughter was released into the custody of a stranger." He demanded.

"Sir, we go on what the patient requests unless we are given other instructions." She said.

"She's seventeen, she's a minor-" He paused, took a breath, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I want to know who took my daughter." He said in a calm as possible voice.

"That's against doctor patient privilege." She said. Nick looked at her with pleading eyes. She sighed and since she was the head nurse, and the only one at the desk, she gave in. "Mr. Todd Colby."

Nick bit his lip to the point where it almost bled, trying to hold it in for April's sake. "Get a cab and take her home." He said to Greg as he ran out of the hospital, ignoring April's questions.

Nick sped down the street to Todd's house calling Brass for backup. He pulled up to the house in record time and drew his gun walking up to the door. He knocked as hard as he could and a few minutes later Todd answered the door. "Where is she?" He said his gun raised.

"I don't got shit." He said.

"Dad?" Katie cried from the house.

Nick busted through the door and saw Katie on the floor in the living room, unable to get herself up. "It's ok, I'm here." He said putting a hand on her face.

Katie nodded and looked past him. "Look out." She yelled.

Nick turned and Todd fired a shot at him. The bullet pierced his skin and embedded itself in his shoulder. Todd took aim again except this time at Katie. It seemed to go in slow motion as her arm went up to try and block herself and Nick raised his gun. Shots were fired and Katie was afraid to look until it stopped.

There was dead silence in the room and she didn't want to look for fear of the worst, but she knew she had to. She lowered her arm and couldn't feel any new pain so she assumed she wasn't hit. She looked over to Nick who was sitting on the floor gun raised pointed at Todd. She looked over to Todd who stared at her and then fell to the ground, his shirt turning the crimson color of blood. She looked back over to Nick as his gun dropped and he leaned over sweeping her up into his arms. She could see his lips moving but the sound was still gone. His movements were going slower than molasses in January and Katie didn't know up from down. She closed her eyes and stayed in Nicks embrace as the volume of the room slowly rose. She could hear more voices coming in but all she was concerned with right now was Nick.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" He asked. She was still shaken up from the events but she was able to produce a nod. "It's over." He said pulling him to her once again.

Brass entered the room and saw the bullet hole and blood in Nick's shoulder and saw the dead body of Todd Coby and knew that it had all happened in self defense. After all they were trained to empty their magazine when put in that situation.

An: So what's the final word?


End file.
